John Kemp, president, and Chris Hopkins, design manager, of Celebration Fireworks attended the Feb. 25 meeting of the Northwestern Recreation Commission.

Kemp said providing firework displays is a competitive business. Celebration puts on 130 displays a year using a quarter-million pounds of fireworks.

Storage is at a 35-acre property near a Slatington quarry. Each box has to be kept 200 feet from another one for safety's sake.

He said there are only five companies in the east that do displays comparable to Celebration.

"We fill the sky," Kemp said, as Hopkins gave a PowerPoint presentation.

A new firework display featuring 30-foot towers shooting horizontally toward each other may be included in the show, if Celebration is awarded the job from the rec commission.

Kemp said they go to China each year to see what is new and said the Chinese government is closing many of the fireworks factories. It has gone from 200 factories to 50 and he expects it to go to 10. Celebration placed second in a Chinese International Festival.

He thanked the township road crews for helping with cleanup and said each year they pay the men for helping.

Kemp wants a three-year contract with $500 increases each year. The price has remained at $15,500 since 2008.

Rec member Don Link said it is nice to have them in the local backyard. On the cost, Kathy Hermany, Night committee chair, said the board should remember it was started as a project for the community, not as a money maker.

Steve Bachman, representative from Heidelberg, said they should offer $16,000 for the coming year. The three-year contract was approved.

Hermany said she had to buy new orange fencing.

Jim Hughes, maintenance, said it would cost $2,200 to cover the countertops in the concession stand with steel. Laminated pressed board costs $40 a sheet.

School member Ron Morrison talked to Arthur Oakes, operations manager at the school, about the lights on Northwestern Road being used when there are major events with people going back and forth from the school to the fields. Oakes will get back to him.

Morrison will also talk to State Rep. Gary Day, R-187th, to see if something can be done through PennDOT which has refused to lower the speed limit.

In the meantime, Link said it will be required for major events that fire police be on hand when students are crossing the road to the rec fields. One person came so close to being seriously injured that his heel was hit by a tire, which led to attempting to make the road safer.

NYAA's Frank Chukoskie asked about equipment storage sheds. A lean-to would be cheaper.

Link asked about the base which can be stone or concrete. Bachman reminded them it will depend on meeting the Universal Construction Code requirements. He suggested Chukoskie call the township for what is needed.

Link asked who was to pay for the sheds. The commission needs details but will not promise to pay.

Chukoskie said batting cages are a first priority. Whether they are to be fixed with a permanent net and poles or if they can be taken down for winter were discussed. A 70-foot cage would cost between $3,000 and $5,000.

Chukoskie asked if the grant money from Nestlé Waters can be used.

Link said Nestlé wanted it used for something permanent and not sports specific. He said Justin Smith of Olde Homestead Golf Course had donated mats that can be placed in the batting position to prevent mud.

Chukoskie said he would provide further information next month.

Smith said the field care will be fertilizer, crab grass pre emergent spray, grub control and fertilizer. The grub control could be skipped but he said some are coming back. Field aeration is done in the fall.

A discussion began about investing the money from the money market fund into something providing better interest. Morrison said the school uses CDs. He will talk to the rec attorney to see what can legally be used since the commission is a public organization.

Approval of the insurance at $900 was given.

Rob Serulneck asked if the NYAA could send a member to the rec commission. It would require a change in the bylaws approved by each of the four townships, Link said.

A bylaw review is scheduled for next month.